Missing 5-year-old Pittsburgh-area boy with autism found dead in river
A missing 5-year-old boy with autism from McKeesport was found dead on Monday in the Youghiogheny River, officials said.
Malik Patterson was found dead just before 3 p.m. on Monday in McKeesport by the river near Water Street, authorities said. No cause of death was listed by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office.
In a post on Facebook, the City of McKeesport Police Department said the 5-year-old boy was last seen on Monday around 10 a.m. in the rear of building 13 in Harrison Village. He had autism, police said. The department "canceled" its missing person alert for the boy around 3:35 p.m., according to the Facebook post. Police are investigating.
"All we could hear is this mother, all of a sudden, screaming, 'No, no, no!'" Harrison Village resident Phyllis Bray said.
When Bray heard that sound, she knew it was bad news.
"She just was screaming and saying, 'Why? Why they take my baby? Why my child?" Phyllis said.
Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group confirmed on Tuesday that it assisted McKeesport police and fire in recovering the little boy from the Youghiogheny River. The recovery effort followed hours of first responders searching for the boy in Harrison Village. Phyllis's daughter Tawana said police went door to door and didn't give up.
"They looked and they looked until they found that child," Tawana said.
Now, 24 hours later, the community is ready to honor Patterson. A memorial featuring stuffed animals and candles was created to mourn the boy.
"When something like this happens, we're all family," Tawana said.
Autism Connection of Pennsylvania Executive Director Lu Randall told KDKA that children with autism drown at a rate 160 times higher than other kids. She released the following statement to KDKA:
"Families with autistic children or adult sons or daughters lack supports and services needed to live safely in our communities."